Tree surgeons, tree trimmers and sometimes utility workers are required to climb trees and utility poles using a belt which wraps around the tree or pole and spikes which are inwardly directed from the lower portion of their boots to dig into the wood of the tree through the bark. To mount the spike onto the boot, workmen currently use an iron bar that is shaped something like fish hook, descending the inside of the leg and wrapping around the arch, with a spike mounted at the lower inside corner and straps which retain the unit to the lower leg and foot.
The problem with this spike mounting unit, which has been used for more than a hundred years, is not in its safety. It is a very safe unit which has proven to be substantially hazard-free in an intrinsically risky business. However, a major problem lies in its comfort. Even though the upper inside portion of the iron bar is padded, it nonetheless rubs continuously against a portion of the leg of the worker, usually through a boot, to produce an aggravated sore spot. Workers have been known to tape a piece of plywood covered with carpet over the existing pad to expand the area of contact between the boot and the spike mount. Such home-fix-it approaches assist somewhat on the comfort side, but still do not provide a complete and adequate solution and run the risk of degrading the spike mount from a safety point of view.
In addition, the nature of the existing spike mount is such that only a single spike, which is integral with the steel of the entire spike mount, can be used with any one spike mount. Because the bark of trees differ greatly in thickness, the spike mount must be provided in at least three different sizes as presently used. The spike mount is thus produced with spikes having three different sizes, one inch, one and one half inches and two inches.
There is a need for a comfortable spike mount which a worker can wear all day without creating abrasions of the leg and foot, and preferably one which would provide for the interchangability of spike elements so that different sized spikes may be work with the same spike mounts.